


The Reunion {Invader Zim: Emergence Side Story}

by ingayder, Irken_Scum



Series: Emergence [2]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst, Emergence continuity, Established Relationship, Feelings Jams, Humor, M/M, Making Up, Original Character(s), Side Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-06 02:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingayder/pseuds/ingayder, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irken_Scum/pseuds/Irken_Scum
Summary: Dib gets an invitation to his five year high school reunion, and decides to go with Zim as his plus-one, thinking it'll be a good chance to catch up with other people they went to school with. Instead, some unresolved bad blood catches up with them instead.(This is a side-story from the continuity of my longer fic, Invader Zim: Emergence, and falls in the timeline directly following Chapter 11.)**EDIT:** This fic originally had an additional scene in it, but it was a graphic, violent revenge scene and I've elected to remove it as it doesn't serve the story. None of the events used therein had an important effect on canon and I feel as though removing it makes the first part of this side-fic more accessible, as what happens will play a role in the upcoming Emergence sequel.





	The Reunion {Invader Zim: Emergence Side Story}

"Well? What did his dick look like?"

The question caught Dib completely off-guard. He had just arrived at home from an evening with Zim, and what had transpired at Zim’s house had only just begun to set in. An off-handed comment that had upset Zim led Dib to truly consider his feelings about the alien. A sad movie and a blanket nest and a surprisingly heavy conversation later, Dib wound up kissing his former nemesis in the heat of the moment, only to find it reciprocated. Something he’d tried very, very hard not to dwell on wanting, but could no longer lie to himself about. And it had been Gaz’s tough love that had motivated him to go over there in the first place, but somehow he completely forgot about her rather unnerving interest in Irken genitalia. That is, of course, until she blindsided him with outrageous question without even so much as a “hello.”

“Wh---” Dib frowned deeply, flustering at the inquiry. "I didn't--- see his dick, Gaz, oh my god! We just talked for a while. Jeez."

"What the hell, man." Gaz threw up her arms. "You were over there for five hours and you didn't get laid? I was counting on you."

"We just now got together!" Dib protested, his face red. "I'll let you know when it happens, but I don't have anything for you right now."

"Lame." Gaz sighed. "A thing from our old high school came for you in the mail."

"A thing?" Dib lifted a brow, spotting an envelope on the table. He took it and opened it without too much wait, skimming over it, before letting out a quiet 'huh'. "I guess there's a high school reunion going on! Man, I do not want to talk to any of those people ever again."

"Doncha wanna show off your new boyfriend?" Gaz suggested. "He's all stylish and shit now."

"Huh. I guess I could," Dib hummed thoughtfully, recalling Zim’s newfound interest in fashion. He _was_ actually pretty good at it. "And, if everyone's still awful, there's still the free food?"

"Yeah, exactly," Gaz said. "Go show 'em up. You're a grad student with a trophy boyfriend now. You're a badass."

"You know what? You're right!" Dib agreed. "You wanna come with and see how straight and awful everyone still is?"

"Pass. Not my year, so it’s not like I’ll know any of ‘em," Gaz replied. “But you can tell me all about ‘em later.”

"Fair enough." Dib looked a bit more enthusiastic about the whole thing. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all!"

Little did he know, it probably would be.

The following weekend, a small handful of 22 and 23 year olds gathered at the local Skool for the reunion, gathered in the gym with a number of former teachers who came to observe. Conversation was lively and snacks were plentiful. Showing up fashionably late with Zim in tow, Dib stepped in awkwardly to the gym, surprised by how many students had actually turned up. It wasn't that many, really, but Dib was amazed that any of them wanted to be there at all. They probably only came for the same reason he did.

"Man, a lot of these people... haven't really changed at all," Dib muttered, giving Zim a nudge. "I guess it only has been about five-ish years, but still.”

"You know? I never learned half of these people's names," Zim mused. 

"Oh my god.” The voice belonged to a former classmate--- a blue haired girl named Sara. She was the first to notice them coming in, and approached them with interest. "Is that Zim? I thought you moved or died or something."

"Mm? Oh! Ah, yes, I--- was homeschooled," Zim replied.

"Oh, man--- Sara?" Dib lifted his brows, looking a little surprised. "I never thought you'd be one of the people to come back here!"

"Sure, I mean, it's been five years, who wouldn't be curious about what everyone's up to?" Sara snickered. "What's really surprising is seeing you two doing anything together. I thought you guys hated each other in school."

"We worked stuff out," Dib replied, nonchalant. "I mean, he was homeschooled for like ten years, and when we met back up, we both sort of mellowed out a little bit. Not so much for him, but you know."

Zim elbowed Dib lightly, scowling a bit, prompting a chuckle from Dib.

Sara waved to someone in the distance. "Zita! Zim and Dib are here."

"They're still around?" Zita lifted her brows, coming over from where she'd been getting some punch. "Wow, they really are! I thought natural selection would've taken you guys out years ago. Congrats on being alive!"

"Thank you very much!" Zim said. "It is a blessing that my life force continues to grace us all with its presence."

"You sure got stylish, huh, Zim?" Sara remarked, giving his outfit a once-over.

"Yes! I am an Instagram model now," Zim replied proudly.

"Weird! I have no idea how I haven't seen you," Zita remarked. 

"I haven't seen it either, now that I think about it," Dib remarked, lifting a brow Zim's way. "Do you actually have an Instagram?"

"Of COURSE!" Zim replied, whipping out his phone. Apparently his Instagram handle was @GalaxysFinest. 

"Oooh," Sara cooed, scrolling a bit. "Oh man, are you a decora boy?"

"On the side," Zim replied, feigning humility.

"That's what he's been up to these days," Dib teased fondly. "Just surprisingly good fashion and so, so much Netflix. An absurd amount of it."

"Oh, man, I know how those weeks are," Sara agreed, stepping aside so Zita could look at his page.

"Heh... yeahhhh," Zim muttered, glancing off to the side. “It was a rough ‘week’ indeed.”

Zita had taken Sara’s place in front of Zim’s phone, scrolling through his page, speaking up idly as she did. "So, are you guys a thing or something? It sounds like you two hang out a lot. And I definitely see him in at least three of the backgrounds in these pictures."

"Yes, actually," Zim replied. "Dib and I have been dating for about a week, but we've been spending time together for a few months now."

"Aww," Sara said. "Crazy how the times change, huh?"

"That's kinda gay, you guys," Zita joked. "It's okay, though, us too. It's like that sometimes."

"You two are together?" Zim asked, raising a brow. "That's delightful."

"Thank you!" Sara grinned. "We got together in college because we ended up going to the same university. Coming up on three years!"

"From what people we've been talking to, now everybody from our class is either gay, shitty, here to see the trainwreck, or too good to show up to this," Zita remarked.

"You know? That sounds about right," Dib agreed.

"Well, I'll follow you on Insta when I get home," Sara said. "Dib, you should check in with Gretchen! She'll be excited to see you. Oh, uh, but--- be careful. She's here with Keef, and last I heard he was really pissed at Zim."

"Keef?" Zim asked. 

"Little redheaded kid? He used to really like you," Sara said.

Zim racked his brain, looking perplexed.

"Your best friend from way back then?" Dib added, giving Zim a little nudge. "And he had that, uhhh. Incident with robot eyes?"

"Oh." Zim looked dawned upon, then paled. "OH."

"Mmmhm," Dib murmured, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's gonna be a loooot to deal with, when we go talk to them. It looks like the robot eyes thing didn't go so well."

"Nnnnno, I should think not, cybernetic body attachments require regular maintenance," Zim muttered, looking guilty.

"Well, have fun, guys!" Sara said. "We're off to the snack table!"

"See you!" Dib waved them off, watching the two go, before pursing his lips lightly in concern. "Should we... uh. Go say hi to them?"

"Prrrrrobably? I should, ah, say something to Keef, I think," Zim admitted.

"Yeeeah, probably," Dib muttered, stepping over towards where he spotted Keef and his bright orange hair, chatting enthusiastically with Dirge, with a taller woman standing off to the side from him that Dib didn't quite recognize, calling over to the three with a little wave. "Hey, you guys! Long time no see!"

"Wait--- is that Dib?" Keef asked, the smile that he'd already been wearing brightening to a grin. The service dog at his feet, a fluffy golden retriever, perked up as well at the approach of more people. "Hey! Wow, it's been years! I'm facing the right direction, right, babe? It's so echo-ey in here, it sucks, haha."

"Close!" The woman with him was tall, well-kept, and glamorous, with long auburn hair and a dazzling smile. "Turn like, two feet to your left."

"Oh! Okay," Keef turned just a bit, still beaming, and lowering his voice, sounding a little embarrassed for having to ask. "Thanks, honey. Is it just him? It sounds like there's more than one person."

"Um, no," she murmured. "It's---- Zim. Zim is with him."

"Oh," Keef murmured, his smile dropping immediately. "Does Missy look like she needs to go outside? Because I do not wanna deal with that."

"You go on," his partner said quietly, rubbing his shoulder. "I'll go tell him not to bother you."

"I appreciate that," Keef let out a breath of relief, giving the golden retriever at his side a pat to the top of her back, and following her outside, tossing an awkward wave in the direction it sounded like the footsteps were coming from.

"Caught him at a bad time, huh?" Dib asked, giving an awkward chuckle, but offering the woman a smile. "Well, uh, since I'm here, I figure I should say--- hi! Are you Keef's plus-one?"

"...Dib, it's me. Gretchen?" The woman raised a brow. "I mean I know I kinda look different but jeez."

"Oh my god, Gretchen?!" Dib's expression lit up with shock, and then delight. "I honestly didn't recognize you! The only thing that's the same is your hair color. Wow, it has been way longer than I realized."

Gretchen laughed. "It sure has! You look well."

"Wait, you're the girl who had the braces?" Zim clarified. 

"Yes," Gretchen replied, colder with him. "And I'm married to the guy who you made go blind."

"How has, uh... he been?" Dib asked, awkwardly caught in the middle the glared daggers. "I didn't get to talk to him much during school, but he was always really nice, so hopefully he's been okay."

"He's been great, Dib, thank you for asking," Gretchen said. She turned back to Zim. "Listen here, Zim, unless you have a very good apology for Keith, do not bother him."

"I wasn't---" Zim fumbled. 

"But you should apologize," Gretchen added.

"I want to!" Zim replied plaintively.

"Its part of the reason we came over, besides catching up," Dib assured her. "Keef deserves an apology after all... that, and we talked a little about it before we even came over."

"I---" Gretchen faltered. "Wait, really? Zim is gonna apologize. You're serious? You actually plan on owning up to the fact that you did something shitty?"

"YES!" Zim threw up his hands, exasperated. "Why is everyone always trying to discredit my character development?!"

"It just seemed pretty farfetched," Gretchen remarked, sending Keef a text letting him know what was going on. His text to speech on his phone would read it to him.

"It is fetched a regular distance," Zim snipped. "I have changed SIGNIFICANTLY. I---- may be nervous about speaking to Keef, but Zim is no coward! I will amend this situation to the best of my ability."

"Good," Gretchen said, sighing. "Get a move on, then. I'll keep Dib busy for you. And please, for the love of god, call him ‘Keith,’ not Keef. We’re not kids anymore."

With Gretchen and Dib remaining in the auditorium to chat, Zim took a deep breath and headed outside to find Keith.

Outside, Keith had just finished listening to the message Gretchen sent, looking a little puzzled. Zim was apologizing? Was this the same Zim they were talking about? He had no idea, but the footsteps in the grass nearby, and the tug that came from his service dog looking up spoke loud and clear that he wasn't going to have long to puzzle over it.

"Is that Zim?" Keith asked, turning his head back towards the sounds of steps. "Sorry if it isn't, though."

"It is," Zim replied, taking a seat beside him on the bench. "It has been a very long time."

"It has," Keith muttered. "About ten years, now, I think? Time's hard to keep track of."

"Mm. Going on eleven." Zim paused. "It has come to my attention that I have some explaining to do."

"That's putting it lightly," Keith grumbled.

"...When did you lose the eyes?" Zim asked cautiously.

"Two years after the incident," Keith replied. "They started smoking, and there wasn't anything anyone could do to save them."

"That's--- better than one would expect, consequently," Zim mused, immediately feeling bad for saying so. "They require semi-annual maintenance, is why I say that." Making it worse. Good job.

"Yeah, well. No one had ever seen anything like them before, so you can imagine why I didn't manage to get maintenance," Keith let out a huff of air, clearly getting frustrated with the topic. It was a sore spot, to say the least.

"No, I--- What I’m saying is, I should have been the one to do it," Zim replied, owning that. "I should have been here."

"Where were you, Zim?" Keith pressed, a bit upset, but clearly struggling to keep his composure. "You take out my eyes for, what? Being friends with you? And then a few months later, you just vanish!"

"I---- augh, it--- It's difficult to explain without----" Zim absolutely suffered through this conversation, shifting with immense discomfort. He weighed his options carefully, sighing. "Gah. I--- have to tell you something that I am not really supposed to talk about."

"I'm listening," Keith folded his arms across his lap, frustrated but quiet.

"Dib was not actually kidding about me being an alien," Zim confessed, strained. "I can--- let you feel my antennae if you want proof."

"I mean, considering that right now, that sounds like bullshit, I'm going to need some proof," Keith agreed, offering Zim his hand after he stowed away his phone.

Zim looked around quickly before pulling one antenna out of his wig. "I'd rather not take it off right now given that we're outdoors in public but my hair isn't real either." He gently leaned into Keith's hand, going so far as to wiggle it after a moment to prove that they weren't just hair, despite the fact that they were definitely thicker than hair. The antenna was about the width of a finger with dense, prickly hairs running along the bottom.

Keith's creased, troubled brow melted to a bit of shock, feeling the antenna for a moment. That was definitely unlike anything that he'd ever felt before, that was for sure. He almost didn't know what to make of it. 

"That is... actually an antenna," Keith murmured, almost a little blown away. "That makes so much sense!"

"So--- To be completely transparent with you," Zim started, still struggling a bit but less so, "I come from a planet called Irk. I was told to blend in with the native species here. When that little harpy Jessica mentioned that my lack of friends came off as inhuman, I was in a hurry to discredit her. So... that's where you came in. But in truth, I wasn't looking for anything permanent from anyone at the time. And I didn't know how to tell you that in a way you'd understand without blowing my cover, and your attention was already putting me in a difficult position. So, I... improvised."

"So, let me get this straight," Keith started slowly, anger leaking back into his voice a bit. "You used me for bonus human points, and instead of, I don't know, making up a reason why we couldn't hang out, or just telling me because you were my first best friend, and if you had a secret I would've guarded it with my life, you replaced my eyes to make me think a squirrel was you, and basically let them rust out of my head?"

"I wasn't thinking like a human, Keith, I was thinking like an alien invader who planned to kill everyone in a month or so anyway," Zim pointed out.

"And you didn't think about the fact that once alien robot eyes were found in my head, people wouldn't ask questions?" Keith scowled. "Which they did, by the way. I didn't know what was up with you, lied and said that I thought I got abducted, and dealt with crazy people asking me questions about it for like three months."

"None of it mattered to me. I was an invader! I thought I was here to destroy! To subjugate the planet to the will of the Irken Empire! I thought within maybe a month maximum I would be standing on a massive space ship firing cannons at the surface of this planet which I hated so much, stripping it of life. I had no interest in the feelings of anyone. I felt I could be careless because you wouldn't be around long enough to hinder me, much less realize what I had done."

wow! that's a moth09/19/2019  
Keith paused, took in a frustrated breath, and exhaled. "Okay, fine. That's fair. But after years passed, did you think, I don't know. If I had thought about telling someone about that incident, that you might've been in hot water?"

"So--- that's---" Zim huffed out a sigh. "That's the next part. I found out my mission was a fake. That I was exiled and that my leaders had no interest in this planet. In fact, they sent me here precisely because it was so far from their flight path that they assumed they would never see me again. So, I got--- ehhh. Depressed. And Irkens don't have the same concepts of time passage that humans do, nor do we eat and sleep nearly as regularly. So when I was in my basement, hunched over a desk watching television and feeling sorry for myself, I genuinely had no idea how much time was passing. I was in a depression slump, sulking, hating myself and wallowing in self-pity, non-stop, for ten years."

Keith was quiet for a moment, then sighed, pressing a hand to his face and trying to deal with all this. "Alright. Whatever. The timeline checks out. Now I know that, at least, you're not the biggest dickhead on this planet. At least, not intentionally. Is that all that you needed to get off your chest?"

"I'm sorry," Zim finally said. "None of this is an excuse. Cybernetic body implants require a lot of care and whether I liked it or not, as the one who designed and implanted them, it was my responsibility to provide that care. I am willing to do whatever it takes to right this wrong."

"It wasn't just the eyes, Zim," Keith sighed, finally seeming to drop his defenses, even if just a bit. The apology wasn't something that he'd expected, and was, admittedly, a little caught off guard. "I had such a hard time trusting people again after what happened between us. You were my first genuinely close friend--- or, I thought was my first close friend. I still deal with feeling like I'm not wanted by everybody around me, especially with being blind. It's shitty."

"I know," Zim murmured. He crumpled a bit, genuinely wracked with guilt. "I want to make that right too. If I can."

Keith was quiet for a moment, before letting out a quiet, upset-sounding laugh. "You know, it was a lot easier just hating you while you were off the face of the Earth. Making amends is harder than people give it credit for."

"You can hate me if you want to," Zim offered. "If that is what you want, I won't bother you.”

"I never wanted to hate you," Keith murmured. "Even if our friendship was fake, I thought you were a great guy. You have no idea how long I made excuses for what you did because I cared about you a lot."

Zim heaved a rough breath. "I--- I don't know what to say, except--- that whatever you want from me now, it is yours."

"Just... be honest with me from now on," Keith let out a light breath. "We probably won't even see each other that much anymore. I live on the other side of town. Treat me like a person when we run into each other, and don't do what you did to me to anybody else. That's all I want."

Zim gave a rough swallow. He didn't know what he'd hoped for, but some part of this caused him immense pain. "Understood. And--- if you ever want new implants that are properly maintained, I would gladly do that. But that's up to you as you would have to deal with me more often."

"I..." That gave Keith pause, his previously still-tense posture dropping a bit. "...I didn't think that was a thing that could be done. I'll--- have to think about it. I, uh. I just got used to being blind a few years back, haha."

"Understandable. You are fierce and strong, and your capacity to adapt is unmatched. You have no need for enhancements. It is simply a matter of preference," Zim assured him.

"I'll talk to Gretchen about it, see what she thinks," Keith told him, quiet for a moment, before letting out an embarrassed laugh. "She and I got married just last year, but honestly, I can't decide half the things I want to do without her weigh-in. You know?"

"Heh. I know," Zim replied, tense and sad. He wanted to run.

"Well, I should... probably let you head back in," Keith replied, quieter this time. "I'm gonna be out here with my dog for a little while longer. She's enjoying the quiet time."

"Alright. If you-- make up your mind about the eyes, I can be contacted through Dib. We--- he's my boyfriend," Zim admitted. "Farewell, Keith."

"See you, Zim," Keith murmured. "Stay safe out there, bug man."

"And you as well," Zim replied, heading inside to find Dib and Gretchen still chatting.

"Oh! You're back," Gretchen said. "How did it go?"

"Good, I think," Zim said, still a bit squishy. 

"I better go check on him," Gretchen said. "See you around, Dib! It was good chatting!"

"See you later, Gretchen!" Dib waved after her, his smile softening to a concerned look. "...You okay, Zim? Did it... not go so good for a while, I'm guessing?"

"It helped him, I think," Zim answered honestly. "Maybe a little less good for me."

"Wanna talk about it and get some snacks?" Dib offered, loosely linking his fingers with Zim's own.

"I don't want to talk about it here, but snacks? Yes," Zim agreed.

"Dib Membrane!" A large, red-headed man stood by the snack table, looking smug and heterosexual. He had two other men with him--- a scruffy looking, skinny man who also had red hair, although not much of it, and a broad-shouldered brown-haired man who looked incredibly disinterested. "Look at you! You've barely changed. Still a freak. Except now you're holding hands with another freak."

"Yyyyep!" Dib gave an uncomfortable laugh, easily identifying them. The largest man in the front was Chunk, the thinner man was Rob, and the brown-haired man was Torque. Former classmates of his, and the top of the obnoxious jock food chain. "And, I mean, I could be even more of a freak? I'm not holding hands with you, so."

"Ooooh, roasted," Torque sneered, laughing a little. "You got some guts when you grew up, Dib. Hell yeah."

"Shut up, Torque, don't go cheering these fucking weirdos on," Rob shot back, earning a snort of a laugh from Torque, who didn't even seem remotely phased, going back to his food.

"Yeah, Torque, what are you, a fuckin' cheerleader?" Chunk sneered.

"Who are you people again?" Zim raised a brow. 

"Of course you'd be too dumb to remember," Chunk remarked. "Ask your little girlfriend."

"I have a boyfriend and you bore me. Move," Zim snapped.

"Misgendering is for pussies, Chunk. Are you a fuckin' pussy, bro?" Torque remarked with a mouth full of chips, unfazed by any of their jeering. Considering he was the tallest among them, he wasn't particularly worried about fighting either of the two, and his demeanor said that loud and clear.

"These guys were in our class," Dib muttered. "Torque, Chunk, and Rob."

"Aww, look! There must be some kind'a brain in there, he remembers us!" Rob jeered. "Shame about that, I was gonna have a real fun time reminding him the old fashioned way, for old time's sake."

"I don't care, I want snacks, you will move or I will move you," Zim said.

Rob and Chunk shared a patronizing “ooooooh” between them. "Somebody thinks he's a big boy," Chunk teased. "Go ahead. Try it."

"Zim, don't even worry about it," Dib sighed bitterly. "We can just leave early and get Krazy Taco or something. It'd probably be better than this, anyways."

"It's true," Torque remarked, shoving food in his mouth anyways. "It sucks, but it's free, so you can bet your ass I'm gonna eat it."

Chunk rolled his eyes. "I shoulda known you dumb fairies weren't gonna do anything."

"Oh, I'll do something," Zim said, squaring up and reaching for something behind him, presuming from his PAK.

Dib looked a little alarmed, leaning over to whisper hurriedly to Zim. "What're you doing!? We can't do anything here---!"

"Darling, relax," Zim turned to Dib, shrugging and grinning casually, before producing a net gun and firing it without even looking to aim, knocking Chunk over and trapping him in a net.

"AUGH, WHAT?!" He squirmed, tearing at the net. "What the fuck?"

"Oh my god, Zim," Dib muttered, pressing a hand to his face. "A net gun?"

"What the fuck, you piece of shit!" Rob snapped, trying to break Chunk out of the net. "I'm gonna kick your ass!" 

"What're you boys up to?" From behind the group came the aged, seething voice, with the foreboding sound of a rattlesnake's warning, stating loud and clear who exactly it was. "What have I said about net guns in school!?"

"Oh, Ms. Bitters!" Zim grinned wryly. "You are looking stunning, as ever."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, you make me sick," Ms. Bitters scowled, but didn't seem too bothered by it. "I'm amazed you're still alive, much less alive enough to catch idiots in nets. And Chunk, get up now, or I will be leaving you to the carnivorous roombas. The school board just reinstated them."

"Jeez," Chunk grumbled, getting to his feet. "I gotta go to my truck and get my friggin' knife anyway, otherwise I'll never get out of this stupid thing. Fuck you, Zim."

"Goodbye, degenerates!" Zim called as the three of them left.

"They disgust me just as much as they used to," Ms. Bitters muttered. "As do you two. But less so. Just slightly less."

“How’d you get stuck here, Ms. Bitters?” Dib asked. “This is the high school reunion.”

“The school board seems to think that I am the most adept at keeping you idiots out of trouble. So I got sent to chaperone,” Ms. Bitters grumbled, clearly not a fan of the whole affair.

"How interesting that you have barely aged, if at all," Zim noted. "Any normal human would have seen the effects of the years."

"That assumes that age is strong enough to control me," Ms. Bitters replied, casual. "It isn't. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I've got to make sure none of these fools are spray-painting anything on the school's walls."

"Very well,” Zim agreed, snickering and watching her off. “You know, there is a very good chance she is either an alien or a demon.”

"Listen, there was a chance everyone in this school could've been an alien or a demon, because they're all so... like that," Dib pointed out. "Public school is like that."

"And yet you only picked on me," Zim teased, fondly placing a kiss on Dib's cheek.

"You had green skin!" Dib laughed, looping an arm around Zim's waist. "If there was anybody I was going to, it was you!"

"It's a skin condition," Zim contested, laughing. "Let's go home."

"I actually needed to stop by and talk to Mr. Smiley for a minute," Dib replied. "We used to talk about cryptids and stuff when I was in school! I'm obviously not gonna tell him about you, but I am gonna tell him about the goblin we found."

"Curse you for having a social life outside of me," Zim joked. "Fine, let's go."

The reunion came to an end a few hours later and a handful of attendees made their way to some sort of after-party which Zim insisted was not necessary for them to attend, and the two went home together.


End file.
